Page 2855 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 24 June 2009

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Most lenders would want the comfort of lending to a client with a savings history. They take into account issues such as your capacity to save. It has to be acknowledged that it would potentially be possible for a lender under land rent particularly, because they are only borrowing half the amount of a traditional borrower, to actually provide a $20,000 deposit out of the first-homebuyers boost.

I would think a lender would think, “Well, that shows no history of saving. One of the indicators that we use in determining the risks inherent in a particular loan is a person’s financial history.” It might very well be that there are lenders who would be uncomfortable with saying, “We require on the mortgage you are seeking a $20,000 deposit,” and somebody saying, “That is great. I will just go to the Commonwealth. Here is the $20,000—in fact, $21,000.” The lender might then reasonably say, “Well, no, hang on; we want a bit more than that.” It might be in that circumstance, indeed, that you get a whole range of variables in relation to the level or range of deposits required by different lenders. But these are issues for CPS.

Of course, inherent in the questions that are being asked now is an attack on CPS—a suggestion that CPS does not know what it is doing, a suggestion that CPS is offering a product that is not safe, a suggestion that CPS is taking a product to the market that it does not believe anybody will take up. What is it that you are saying about this? Why won’t you just give it a go? Why have you been so ungracious? Why won’t you accept that your initial opposition, that no lender would be found, has now fallen over? You have embarrassed yourselves. We all know that. We cop that in politics. You have embarrassed yourselves dreadfully. You have put a case that has not been sustained.

There now is supporting the land rent scheme a most significant Canberra-generated financial institution in Community CPS Australia—an organisation that grew out of this community, that is part of this community. It is mutually based but exists for its members. It has 180,000 members. It is one of the largest credit unions in Australia. It was the 2008 Money Magazine designated credit union of the year. You think it does not know what it is doing. You think that it has produced a product that will not satisfy the market. Why would CPS develop a product with a set of arrangements around it that nobody is going to access or that you believe is not accessible?

Your new mantra is “yesterday, nobody was prepared to lend; today, nobody is prepared to borrow”. Then why did CPS do it? Why do you think they do not know what they are doing? Why do you think they are incompetent? Why do you actually think they have produced a product that nobody will want? Why do you think all these things?

This is a significant national financial institution that has developed a brand new product for a brand new opportunity and you are still trashing it. Just show a bit of graciousness. Give it a chance to work. There are 116 blocks on reservation for land rent. That provides 116 blocks for people to realise their dream. (Time expired.)

MR SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot, a supplementary question?


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